Homeshooling: Scavenger Hunt at EPCOT

by Tanya on August 14, 2012

I know, I know, you want to hear more about the road trip!! Well, I’m working on the 2000+ images from the trip and plan on getting posts started very soon, so for now… the continuation of our Educational trip to EPCOT back in June.

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Morocco

I love Disney as much now as I did as a child so it’s no surprise we go often! My husband & I’s favorite park is EPCOT and we got lucky, it’s our kids favorite too. You can’t go to EPCOT & learn nothing, NOT possible, but we took it to the next level. Just read & talk to the Cast Members. Easy… fun too!

Here is a Scavenger Hunt I created for our recent trip to EPCOT. The kids LOVED it! You can use it as is or research the other countries on-line. A great Disney resource is www.allears.net. So GO create and have fun learning!

Countries General (these were all a ton of fun!)
1.Learn to spell & say Hello, Goodbye & Thank you in the language of each country.
2.Which Candy-bar best represents each country?
3.Have a picture taken of you wearing a hat from each country.
4.What is the hat called in the native language?
5.Take a picture of the ﬂag of each country.
6.What is the dominate religion of each country?
7.Find out what the acronym of EPCOT used to be?

Individual Countries – we choose a few to focus on, most answers given in ().

Mexico:
1. What is the pyramid modeled after? (aztec temple of quetzalcoatl
at Teotihuacan, Mexico)
2. Whatʼs the name of the animal wood carving art? (oaxacan wood
carving)
3. What is Dia de los Muertos? (Day of the Dead) Very interesting, spark up a conversation
with a cast member about the details of this holiday, why it’s celebrated, what it represents, the date, etc.

Italy:
1. What is the structure modeled after? (building & tower) (Doge
Palace – prison & St. Marks Campanile – Bell Tower)
2. Learn about the masks. Where are they made, what do they
represent, what are they used for, is there a celebration around
them? (Engage a Cast Member in the Mask shop)
3. There are three wood burning ovens in Via Napoli, what are the
names of the three active volcanoes that these represent?
(stromboli, etna, vesuvio)
4. Learn ﬁve words in Italian.

Japan:
1. Find out the time of the Taiko (what does this mean?) drum show
and watch it.
2. What is the red structure in the water called? Itʼs the entrance to a
what? (torrei, shrine)
3. Find kakigōri and sample a ﬂavor. (shave ice)

Morocco:
1. What language do they speak here? (Arabic) (Great time learning words in Arabic, we had a cast member write some down even).
2. What continent is Morocco on? (Africa)
3. Name three foods speciﬁc to Morocco. Letʼs try one! (Great shop in the market with food items, then we had lunch:-).
4. The prayer tower at the entrance of the pavilion*** is a detailed replica
of the Koutoubia Minaret in the city of Marrakesh.
5. What Hollywood Studio’s attraction is visible from this pavilion and is
designed to blend in? (tower of terror, must be at a good distance to see this)
***The king of Morocco sent his royal craftsmen to lay all the tile work, carvings and paintings
in the pavilion.

France:
1. The waterway running next to the France Pavilion represents the
Seine as it ﬂows through? (Paris)
2. Locate the spitting Gargoyle. What does this guard in France?
(Notre Dame)
3. Find three cast members from three different cities and have them
locate their hometown for you on a map. (I-pad or paper map).

Here’s some additional cool things while at EPCOT!

Talking Water Fountains – there are three at Epcot: Outside Mouse Works shop; behind Innoventions West, near the restroom, between Innoventions and Honey I Shrunk the Audience Pavilion; and near the play fountain between Future World and World Showcase.

*Update: As of July 2013 these have been disconnected. Sad to see them go.

Head over to Club Cool!

This “exhibit” situated near Innoventions West, offers free samples of soft drinks from around the world, as well as Coca-Cola merchandise. They updated the beverage choice in 2013 an currently have samples from Italy, Greece, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Peru and Brazil. Enjoy!

Paris –
You may notice the ugly green metal boxes lining the wall that separates the pavilion from World Showcase Lagoon. In Paris, boxes similar to these line the embankments of the Seine. Containing rare books, artwork, and modern-day souvenirs, bouquinistes (secondhand booksellers) hawk their wares from these boxes, just like their ancestors have been doing since the 1500’s. Note, nothing is sold from these boxes at the France Pavilion.

There is a lovely park-like setting bordering the “Seine.” Although not accessible to the public, this area of the France Pavilion was inspired by the famous painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by pointillist artist Georges Seurat. In reality, this was better illustrated before International Gateway was build and the embankment installed.

Jardin à la française (French formal garden) is a style of landscaping based on balance and symmetry. The idea is to impose “order” into nature

As a fellow Disney-file, I will say that Cast Members will tell you that EPCOT doesn’t stand for anything. It used to be E.P.C.O.T. and stand for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and later Environmental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, but now it’s just EPCOT, not E.P.C.O.T.

I think for PE this year, the kids should train to run the Royal Family 5k that is the weekend of the Disney Princess Half Marathon, in under 30 minutes. Then you can see cast members from different countries waving at you and cheering you on as you run by. And for art class you can make costumes to run in :)